Biography
Cliff Lyons was an American actor, stuntman and second-unit director, primarily of Westerns, particularly the films of John Ford and John Wayne. Lyons, the son of Garrett Thomas Lyons and Wilhamena Johnson Lyons, was raised on a South Dakota farm, though his family lived for a time in Memphis, TN, where he attended business school. An expert horseman, he gave up the notion of a business career and opted for the rodeo arena instead, touring the country;y and eventually reaching Los Angeles at the age of 21. With accomplished cowboys in great demand, Lyons quickly became involved in movies, working both as a stuntman and an actor. After only a couple of bit parts, he was signed by producer Bud Barsky to do seven inexpensive Westerns directed by Paul Hurst, with Lyons and Al Hoxie alternating as the hero and the heavy. Lyons and Hoxie alternated in another Western series produced by Morris R. Schlank, and, as Cliff 'Tex' Lyons, he seemed headed for minor stardom as a B-Western lead. However, Lyons' voice was not well-suited for sound and the talkie revolution confined him to small roles. As his small shot at stardom faded, however, his career as a stunt double for stars big and small was on the rise. He doubled such cowboy stars as Tom Mix, Ken Maynard, Buck Jones and Johnny Mack Brown. In 1936 he worked with John Wayne for the first and struck up a personal and business relationship that would remain strong for three decades. Wayne was influential in getting Lyons his first work as a second-unit director and in introducing Lyons to John Ford, for whom Lyons would do some of his finest work. Lyons' reputation as a stunt coordinator is comparable to that of acknowledged master Yakima Canutt, with whom Lyons partnered on numerous occasions. Perhaps Lyons' most impressive work was the massive and dynamic battle sequences of Wayne's The Alamo (1960). He was married from 1938 to 1955 to actress Beth Marion, with whom he had two sons. Cliff Lyons died in 1974 at 72, not long after coordinating stunts for Wayne's The Train Robbers (1973).
Date of Birth 4 July 1901, near Clarno Township, Lake County, South Dakota
Date of Death 6 January 1974, Los Angeles, California
Filmography
all 108
Movies 107
Director 5
TV Shows 1
The Train Robbers (1973)
Chisum (1970)
The Green Berets (1968)
The War Wagon (1967)
Genghis Khan (1965)
Major Dundee (1965)
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
McLintock! (1963)
Taras Bulba (1962)
How the West Was Won (1962)
Spartacus (1960)
Sergeant Rutledge (1960)
Ben-Hur (1959)
The Young Land (1959)
The Missouri Traveler (1958)
Wagon Train (1957)
Apache Warrior (1957)
The Abductors (1957)
7 Men from Now (1956)
The Searchers (1956)
The Conqueror (1956)
Bend of the River (1952)
Wagon Master (1950)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
3 Godfathers (1948)
Red River (1948)
The Phantom Rider (1946)
The Purple Monster Strikes (1945)
Death Valley Manhunt (1943)
Wagon Tracks West (1943)
Colt Comrades (1943)
The Old Chisholm Trail (1942)
The Silver Bullet (1942)
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
Riders of Death Valley (1941)
Winners of the West (1940)
The Man from Tumbleweeds (1940)
The Light That Failed (1939)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Renegade Trail (1939)
Three Texas Steers (1939)
Dodge City (1939)
Cassidy of Bar 20 (1938)
Hollywood Round-Up (1937)
Black Aces (1937)
North of the Rio Grande (1937)
Trailin' West (1936)
The Phantom Rider (1936)
Three on the Trail (1936)
Three Godfathers (1936)
The Lawless Nineties (1936)
The Singing Vagabond (1935)
Bar 20 Rides Again (1935)
The Eagle's Brood (1935)
Stormy (1935)
The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)
The Miracle Rider (1935)
The Crimson Trail (1935)
Love Time (1934)
The Red Rider (1934)
Gordon of Ghost City (1933)
Robbers' Roost (1932)
The Devil Horse (1932)
The Night Rider (1932)
Mystery Ranch (1932)
The Rainbow Trail (1932)
Riders of the Purple Sage (1931)
The Vanishing Legion (1931)
The Painted Desert (1931)
Red Fork Range (1931)
Fighting Thru (1930)
Under Texas Skies (1930)
The Last of the Duanes (1930)
Canyon Hawks (1930)
The Oklahoma Cyclone (1930)
The Oklahoma Sheriff (1930)
Near the Rainbow's End (1930)
The Canyon of Missing Men (1930)
Western Honor (1930)
The Cheyenne Kid (1930)
The Man from Nowhere (1930)
The Hunted Men (1930)
Call of the Desert (1930)
Covered Wagon Trails (1930)
Firebrand Jordan (1930)
Breezy Bill (1930)
O'Malley Rides Alone (1930)
A Texas Cowboy (1929)
The Voice from the Sky (1929)
Code of the West (1929)
The Cowboy and the Outlaw (1929)
Law of the Plains (1929)
The Fighting Terror (1929)
The Last Roundup (1929)
The Arizona Kid (1929)
Bullets and Justice (1929)
Headin' Westward (1929)
Manhattan Cowboy (1928)
Across the Plains (1928)
Hell Hounds of the Plains (1927)
Outlaw's Paradise (1927)
Blue Streak O'Neil (1926)
Desert Greed (1926)
The Fighting Ranger (1926)
The Border Sheriff (1926)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
The Road Agent (1925)
Wild Horse Canyon (1925)
Ratings
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1901-07-05
Deathday1974-01-06 (72 years old)
Birth PlaceLake County, United States of America
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsClifford William Lyons, Tex, Cliff "Tex" Lyons
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